Broken Wings
by Golumfryingeggs
Summary: Madness takes many forms and not always a form of weakness.
1. Mad Man

AN: okay so I have written a few A-Team stories, they're not very good, but I do like writing them :). This one was started at about one in the morning with a lot of cookies and tea, so keep in mind I was sugared up and exhausted :P The idea here is to stop making Murdock a victim and start to explore the more 'sane-crazy' side of his personality. I really think that if Murdock ever got angry, as in real angry, it would be very interesting, but it never really happened in either the show or movie.

What a shame :(

So here it is and hope you all enjoy :)

* * *

**Mad man**

Murdock was a strange guy.

He was insane, crazy and off his rocker. On some days one can find him dancing on the roof tops of HQ and others he's running from a hail storm... that doesn't exist. He has dressed up as Captain Black Beard and tried to rob the cafeteria and once he even repainted his chopper to make it looked like Pacman.

Murdock was a strange guy.

But he was funny, really funny, heck the only reason any of the guys even laugh anymore was because of their cuckoo Captain. He could make them laugh so hard that some even lose their voices. The Captain made the war a little more bearable, he made it better and even sometimes enjoyable.

In their OP fewer and fewer men were suffering from depression and one couldn't deny that the lanky pilot had a lot to do with it. He just knew how.

Which why it just didn't make sense to see him angry. It made even less sense to see him very angry, so angry that some of the bigger men were backing up with enough speed to end up in enemy territory if they didn't stop any time soon.

But angry Murdock was.

The tent had gone so quiet that the only sound was the soft breathing from the terrified men a few paces back. They were starring at him with such fear and confusion that it would have been hilarious.

If Murdock wasn't holding a gun.

Which just happened to be Colonel's.

"Kid," Hannibal said softly, "You need to put the gun down,"

Even in this state, Face doubted that Murdock would actually pull the trigger, he was just a little upset that was all-

"Gimme a good reason, bossman," his voice had changed, he was talking with almost no hint of an accent, "Then I'll drop it,"

_Shit_. There was something very wrong here.

"If you shoot, then you'll go back to the Asylum," almost no response from Murdock, but the word 'Asylum' definitely hit a raw nerve. Hannibal never used that word, it was always 'VA' or 'Hospital' it looked like he was a little pissed too.

"Do you agree with what they did?" he asked bitterly. His cold eyes narrowing another fraction. Gods, he was furious.

"Of course not," he said taking a step forwards, the cigar smoke pooling around his face, "But this is war, kid and that's what happens in them, people die-"

"Not children," he growled through gritted teeth, but he never looked at Hannibal, his eyes (and gun) were silently focused on the bastard Sergent. "Not woman and innocent people who has NOTHING to do with this!"

Now he looked at Hannibal and Face resisted the urge to turn around and run in the opposite direction like a little girl. His eyes didn't hold the same openness and confusion, they were cold and dead and so focused that he felt a chill run up his spine. This wasn't lanky Murdock who ran around with a plastic sword trying to defend his row boat. This was his evil fucking twin!

"And even if there was a casualty" Murdock continued in a deep raw voice, "Even if by some terrible accident we did blow up a small village...then we have no right feel pride... If anything we should... we should..." he couldn't finish the sentence, he was choking with emotion, what emotion that was he couldn't be sure, but the burning energy finally seemed to seep out of him.

His shoulders sagged slightly and then he turned back to the Sergent his eyes downcast and gun dropping, as if a terrible weight had been dropped on him for no reason.

"Give me the gun, Captain," Hannibal said again, this time in full authority voice.

Seconds ticked by and they all watched and waited. Starring between the two and hoping this wouldn't end tragically.

He lowered the gun.

Face let out a breath he never even realized he'd been holding.

The young Sergeant swallowed hard, but visibly relaxed when Murdock handed the gun back to Hannibal. His eyes were still dead and the anger had yet to disappear, but at least he wasn't waving a gun around anymore.

Without a word he turned and stormed out of the tent, leaving a frozen Sergent and five other terrified grunts in his wake.

BA who had remained seated throughout the whole thing finally stood up slowly just as Hannibal followed the pilot out of the tent. He gave them a piercing stare and then he spoke in a gruff voice;

"Should have let him shot you," and then turned to leave, Face following close behind, wondering what the Colonel was about to do with their pilot. Their next mission was in less than a week time, they needed him for air support and he doubted that this little episode would be going unchecked.

* * *

There you go! First chapter up, it was suppose to be a one shot, another idea came up and viola! You get a lot more chapters!

Thanks guys and hope you liked it :)

yours insanely

gollumfryingeggs


	2. Listening In

FireChildSlytherin5: Glad to know it! :D! Hoe you find this chapter just as interesting ;)

silverwolfneko-chan: Well... sad to say... I never watched M*A*S*H :( I feel like there's a hole in my childhood. But messa glad you liked it and I hope you like this one too! Oh and tea and cookies are the best way to bring out the muse :P

Thanks for the reviews and hits guys! Enjoy!

Yours insanely

Gollumfryingeggs

* * *

**Listening In**

It was a lot later when Hannibal finally sent for Murdock. They all knew the Colonel had been talking to Morrison, they all knew that the bastard sergeant had squealed on Murdock. It didn't make it any better, it made it worse and even more so because it was their pilot.

BA had left an hour ago, not in the mood for waiting for the verdict, it was late and Face assumed he went to get some rest. It didn't really matter, the mechanic had his own way of dealing with problems and he wasn't about to annoy an already angry muscled Sergeant.

"_You've been grounded_," Hannibal was saying in the tent, with a type of voice Face only ever associated with nightmares. "_I spoke to Morrison and he has decided to ground you for two weeks, no flights, no aerial activity what so ever not even a fucking kite_,"

Murdock remained silent.

"_Goddammit James_!" Face winced, first names were also a bad sign, "_I expected better of you! There are ways to deal with situations like that! Why the hell did you pull a gun on him_!"

Silence.

"_Captain you better answer me in the next five seconds or I will have you grounded permanently_!"

"_I don't know, sir_!" he was panicked it was evident in his voice, he was also still very angry as the soft growl at the end suggested.

"_That's not good enough_," _Oh damn_, the calm voice, that was always much, much worse than shouting.

_"I got angry_," _No shit_.

There was a silence so thick with tension that Face could feel it leaking out of the tent. He really shouldn't be eaves dropping, but he was worried dammit! Murdock had looked so upset when he'd stormed out earlier.

He was just making sure that Hannibal wasn't too hard on the poor guy.

"_You. Got. Angry_?" He felt the hairs stand up at the back of his neck. "_I get angry, Face gets angry, hell BA gets so angry he punches dents in cement walls, we don't pull guns out on fellow officers_!"

Face could practically see Murdock flinching under those steel blue eyes of the Colonel.

"_With your stunt I'm shit without a pilot for two weeks_!"

He could also see BA doing the Macarena in celebration to that deceleration.

A sigh from Hannibal and then a squeak as he sat down in his chair. The silence stretched on and on forever like the darkness of the skies and landscape of the desert. And Face waited for the next interesting bit to happen. There was always something else, something interesting and juicy. He _liked_ interesting little things and stories, dammit!

"_Go and get some sleep Captain_," he sounded so tired, "_I'll figure something out for next week." _he could smell the hesitation in his voice_, "You won't be joining us_,"

_Ouch._

"_And could you tell face to stop eaves dropping and get his ass in here before I drag it in_."

_Oh, Shit_.

The tent flap opened and Face was met with a sombre Murdock. He looked so... frazzled as if he'd just been hit with a wave of static electricity and Face could see the shimmer of dissapointment in his eyes. Murdock was staying behind, this would be the very first time he wouldn't be in on the fun and he could see how badly it was effecting the pilot. Face tried to smile reassuringly and was about tell the man that it was probably just because the Colonel was mad, but the Captain gave no recognition, instead he nodded his head to Hannibal's tent and then stormed off without a word.

Face stared after him for a moment and couldn't help but worry about the lanky pilot. He was a good soul, a wonderful man who asked for far too little and gave way too much. Face didn't blame him for reacting the way he did, hell even BA said he should have shot the sucka in the head.

'_It's not fair_..." he thought, '_I mean it's not like he actually shot the guy, though, fuck, he looked tempted_-'

"**_Face get in here_!**"

He was shook from his dreaming by the Colonel and composing himself to _not_ look like a terrified ten year old, carefully opened the tent flap and stepped in to the dragons lair.

* * *

Shorter :\ ... but at least it's there... right?

...

Damn I hope so O_o

yours insanely

gollumfryingeggs


	3. Bells 'nd Whiskey

DLB: All I can say is... keep reading :P lol! Enjoy the next chapter!

silverwolfneko-chan: Me neither! And I l-o-v-e arguments! They let characters grow and if you find arguments written so well that you believed that they were gonna split up, but then at the end of the chapter ... it just works out. I applaud writers who can do that! And thank you very much! I was really worried about it, if I was going to get it right, but thanks that means a lot! enjoy the rest of the story!

**A/N: I was going to call this chapter Balls and Whiskey... but just no, so I went with Bells and Whiskey, which just worked better O_o. Okay just as a note, I'm not happy with it, I think I over thought it, the chapter feels hollow, but then again I did write an alternative, (always do if I'm worried) so if you guys feel it's really bad, lemme know and I'll fix it ASAP!**

yours insanely

Gollumfryingeggs

* * *

**Bells and Whiskey**

"You wanted to see me, sir?" _No tremor? Score_!

Hannibal glared at him from across the table, a lit cigar was held in his right hand, while the hard worked left was nursing a good whiskey. He must be really pissed at this point if he was drinking already.

"Do you know the meaning of the word 'Private' Lieutenant?" he asked in a quiet voice.

_Calm before the storm_.

"Yes sir," Face said stiffly, he was standing at attention he didn't dare to move for fear of provoking the Colonel into an attack. Like trying to move around in a leopards den.

"Oh, really?" he drawled sarcastically and leaning forwards, "Elaborate,"

He frowned slightly then, though making sure he did not make eye contact at this point, "Sir?"

"Because if you do know the meaning of that word, then you will understand that when I invite only _one_ person into this tent it means that - I want - to talk -_ privately_. If I catch you one more time listening in on conversations that has _nothing_ to do with you," he gritted his teeth, "I will have you court-martial-ed."

_Woah_, he thought, resisting the urge to raise his eyebrows above his hairline, _You really __**are**__ pissed_.

He sat back again, holding his drink in a firm hand and just for a moment Face felt a bit of sympathy for the man. Their next mission was a doozy and Murdock had been essential for it, few other pilots (if any) can be trusted to pull the stunts he does and now...

Well, shit it just sucked.

"That's not the only reason I had you called in," he admitted wearily as he stood up from the table. He puffed his cigar once and went to stand by the small 'window' in his tent. It looked out on the training field, at this time of night it was deserted, though Hannibal was looking at it with such curious intensity that Face found himself wondering what else he could see.

"I want you to keep a close eye on Murdock for the next two weeks," he broke the silence in a voice that was laced with utter exhaustion but also held no room for questions. Face chose to remain silent for the time being.

"I am worried that he might... act out against his punishment, so he'll need our support now more than ever," there was the faintest sound coming from outside. It sounded like a thump, or drum, erratic and strange just below the hum of his Colonels voice.

"Permission to speak freely, sir" Face said with a small hint of sarcasm. It wasn't a question, it was a statement and Hannibal wasn't in the mood for it. He snapped around and in one motion was nearly on top of his second in command, his eyes aflame with a fury he'd never seen the Colonel direct at him.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" it was a dare, a bait for Face to snap at, something for him to nibble on while Hannibal tore him limb from limb. It was also a warning that if he should press this, it would be the point of no return.

He's never been one to heed warnings.

"I think they're full of shit," he paused for effect, "sir,"

Hannibal's eyes narrowed. Perhaps he really should thinking things through-

* * *

"Well that went well," He thought as he stared up at the night sky while lying flat on his back. He delicately brushed his fingers over his bruised eye and tried to remember exactly what had happened.

...

A lot of shouting?

... and pain.

Shaking his head he carefully pushed himself up, taking note of all the little pains and cramps that went along with the movement. He could vaguely remember Hannibal saying something, not shouting... he rarely shouted when he was fighting. Though what the man had tried to tell him had gone right over his head...

He'd never in his life, ever seen the old man that angry before. Maybe he was just stressed . A hoarse soft laugh broke through; the Colonel breathed that stuff, hell his best laid plans came out under pressure. But what _was _bugging him?

Morrison had blatantly forbidden him to take Murdock on the next mission, apparently the Captain 'needs time' because right now he's a 'liability'.

He snorted.

Murdock was a lot o things, but a liability? Never.

The cool night air soothed his aching right eye and jaw. It waved over him and for a moment he could imagine the wind taking all his troubles with, taking it far into the desert to dump into a well made to swallow all the problems and sadness of the world.

That pilot really was rubbing off on him.

_Thump_

Face looked up. It was coming from the training field.

_thump-thump ..._

He made his way over slowly. He could only think of one guy who would play ball in the middle of the night.

Murdock.

_thump-thump-thump..._

_thump_

It was the only sound that clapped in the deserted training area. The moonlight cast off the desert sand, turning it into a white landscape of snowy peeks. The only sound missing was... well the voice of Murdock. There was nothing, no last minute scores or imaginary crowds, no commentary from the box or the cheer leaders cries. It was just a lone pilot with a ball and a pissed expression.

"Hey," Face said, but Murdock ignored him. Well, no surprise there.

"Look, man Hannibal isn't happy about it at all," he gestured to him with a waving hand, "Y'know with Morrison grounding you, it wasn't exactly fair, I mean you didn't really do anything wrong... apart from threatening a fellow officer and all but he just beat me into the ground saying anything about it and well-"

"Not now, kid" Murdock said sharply.

Face blinked.

Kid? _Kid_? That was weird.

He'd never called him that... ever! He was a little younger than the pilot and the taller man outranked him, but they'd always treated each other as, well equal friends. He was Hannibal's second in command, but Murdock never ever minded that and he certainly never patronized him.

"Oookay..." Face said, unsure of how to proceed with the conversation and yet again ignoring the little warning bells that were ringing in the sky, "... is planet Murdock feeling okay? Or shall I just assume that I can call the men in the white coats to come and take you away to the happy hotel?"

He went dead still and even from this distance he could see the man's jaw tighten under the moonlight. The ball was dropped and as it bounced away he turned around with so much fury in his eyes that Face barely surpressed the urge to take a step back.

_Oops._

"Lieutenant," he gritted out, "Go get some rest,"

Now Face was just a little angry.

"What the hell man?" he finally said, "What's wrong? This isn't you!" It wasn't him, it wasn't fun Murdock who made people laugh, it wasn't silly Murdock who wore crazy hats. This was... this is...

_Insane_.

"You're never like this! Geeze I remember when one of the grunts called you a fucking "_loony pilot who kills for a living_" and you just _laughed_ about it! _You bounced back_! What the fuck is wrong with you?" he was getting more and more angry and continuously ignoring the little alarms. "Come on, man just get your head out of this and get back down here... this, this isn't you, you're not like this," he wasn't pleading dammit! He was just worried, _very_ worried...

Another stiff silence followed in the wake of his out burst and in the pale moonlight he could see a small smile playing on the lips of the Captain.

"That's what you think,"

And with that he strolled away and headed for the sleeping quarters. The lone ball rolling into the shadows and Face was left to seriously question his friends sanity.

* * *

Hissssss, ooo don't know if this one worked, but hopefully it wasn't like pulling teeth...

... hopefully :P

yours insanely

Gollumfryingeggs


	4. Marsh in the Desert

Tramontana: Glad you're finding an interest, hope this chapter will pique it even further ;)

HeartMurdock345: lol! I'm glad to see your liking the story HM345! This chapter might not be all that good though, but it's needed unfortunately :\ thanks for reviewing so much! And enjoy!

DLB: But I like long reviews :D! I actually only recently watched the extended version of the movie and I LOVED it! It was awesome! The part where Hannibal ad Face fight was actually a lot more enjoyable for me than the whole ' we're all good friends' thing. I mean Arguments are sooo much fun :D! But thanks for the long review I both appreciated it and enjoyed it :P! Enjoy the next installment :)

silverwolfneko-chan:  lol! Good to see your enjoying it so much already! lol! The thing with a ticking time bomb story, the part before the explosion is usually a lot more fun than the explosion itself :D. The way I see it anyway :P Thankies and enjoy!

A/N: Okay chaps! Just so you know this chapter is a little... odd it wasn't the perfect idea for me, but it is needed to build further on the story. Hopefully it isn't as dull as it looks and hope you all enjoy and thanks for reading/reviewing/ favouriting and just generally every 'iting' I can think of :P!

insanely yours

gollumfryingeggs

* * *

The hot dry air of the desert filtered into the large tent. The small fans only succeeding in moving it around rather than actually cooling the melting officer. General Morrison wiped at his brow and sniffed at the sweat droplets pooling at the tip of his nose. It was hot, very hot, insanely hot, hell it was so hot he wasn't even sure the temperature could be read on his thermometer.

He stared at the small reader on his desk.

55 degrees Celsius.

"Hunh..." he said, "Apparently you can..." though somewhere at the back of his head he knew that that might be a bit too hot, even for the desert.

He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

There wasn't a spot on his bloody body that wasn't soaked with sweat. How do these people live here? He'd seen them dressed in robes as long and black as the tar roads back home. It wasn't a combination he was about to try... or think about for that matter.

He sighed when a small cool breeze drifted in.

'_Mmmm_...' he thought, '_That's nice_'

"Asleep?"

He snapped his eyes open and nearly did a back flip out of his chair when he was met with a smiling General Marsh.

"Hello Morrison," the man said in a sneering voice. He was dressed far to perfectly in this weather, hell even his dark Grey hair was gelled back against his skull. He had a greasy texture to his skin and everything about the man screamed 'snake'.

He was a nasty piece of work, there were quite a few trustworthy accounts which stated that Marsh had only been promoted to General through suck-ups and of course eliminating the competition. The man was a psychological fighter, devious and cunning he would tear at your defenses with tooth and claw and leave you bleeding on the floor.

Morrison resisted the urge to spit.

And instead stood up stiffly and saluted.

"Good to see you Marsh," he lied through his teeth, "I received no message that you were coming-"

"The boys up high decided that a check-up was needed," he waved a pale hand lazily, "It was on short notice, but I do so enjoy to see how my comrades are doing,"

"I'm sure you do," he said stiffly.

There was an awkward silence in which both men sized each other up. They were both Generals, both strong men with sharp eyes and quick minds. Each wanted to prove they were tougher than the other. To feel power and strength over someone just as strong as they. Like two lions deciding if the fight was worth the out come.

Marsh smiled.

"I'm here in particular to see this," he paused, "A-Team?"

"Why the interest?" he asked quickly, perhaps too quickly, but when this bastard took an interest in something there was always a hidden agenda in the mix.

"Simply curious," he said, "Seeing as I've heard stories about them I find hard to believe... so simply curious,"

"I find _that_ hard to believe," he practically hissed.

"Hmm," Marsh grunted, "Strange, then perhaps the stories are false, I mean I... doubted that there could ever be a four squad team that can infiltrate an enemy base, rescue a hostage and then fly out with the abductors own chopper without ever being seen..."

He was taunting Morrison and not even making a bloody effort to hide it!

"Just stories then?" he asked, knowing damn well the answer to that question.

Perhaps Murdock had had a very good idea the other night. Pull a gun out on the smug bastard and see how his cocky smile slips way. He happily entertained that thought for a moment and then in the most diplomatic voice he could muster he finally said;

"No, they are here at the base," he even managed a small grin.

"Good," Marsh said, sitting down in a chair and making himself comfortable, "Send for them,"

Morrison gritted his teeth. He _hated _the man!

* * *

A few minutes later Colonel Smith, Lieutenant Peck, Sergent Barracus and Captain Murdock were all standing at attention in Morrison's tent. They weren't dressed perfectly, Peck was shirtless and Murdock had his baseball cap on. They looked like a rag tag team of bums and Morrison could plainly see that thought slide over marsh's face. He'd expected more, something flashy and interesting to tell his boss' up high. These four were just soldiers nothing special. Not anything you could see up front anyway.

General Marsh managed a smile, "You must be Hannibal Smith,"

Hannibal saluted with no expression on his face.

"Oh, no need for that," Marsh waved him off, "I've heard a lot about you and was simply curious about you and your team, please enlighten me," he gestured to the other three who hadn't so much as moved.

Morrison frowned a little. Captain Murdock rarely stood at attention, he rarely stood still for that matter, it was like watching a gorilla trying its hand at ballet. it just didn't fit... at all.

"They are what they are sir. A mechanic, a second in command and a pilot" he said stiffly and Morrison suppressed a smile. He could smell the hesitation coming from Colonel Smith, he could just pray that he didn't do anything stupid.

"Come now, Colonel" Marsh smiled, "I'm sure they're more than mere... men. Now who are they really?"

Hannibal shrugged, "Apart from that sir they are good soldiers and loyal men,"

Marsh's eyes narrowed a fraction, but the smile remained intact. He turned his gaze, starring each man up and down, his gaze lingered slightly longer on Face, making the Lieutenant squirm slightly under the piercing gaze. Finally he settled on the pilot. He stared for a moment and then asked;

"Why is it that your Lieutenant is ranked higher than your Captain, Smith?"

Hannibal opened his mouth to reply, but Morrison could see the death trap and answered a little quicker.

"Captain Murdock only recently rejoined the army," he said, "He was in a mental institute for a few months after a bad crash, but now he's been reinstated."

"Indeed?" Marsh said, his sharp green eyes now completely focused on the lanky man, "Could you perhaps elaborate, Morrison?"

"I'm bat-shit insane, sir" Murdock said without an expression on his face.

"Captain!" Hannibal said in a hard voice and gave Murdock a quick glance before continuing, "You will show respect to higher ranking officers,"_ that_ he said as dryly as he could muster, though Marsh didn't seem to notice he was completely enraptured by Murdock. He took a few steps closer and only when he was standing directly in front of him did he speak;

"Indeed,"

It hung in the air like a flying blade. Cutting through and shattering the hot dry air of the desert.

Murdock frowned slightly. But the did not answer.

_Dammit_! Morrison didn't need this! Not right now, hell not ever! He could feel the lust pool from Marsh, he could smell it in the air and even see the poor pilot panicking under the uncomfortable stare. He had to get the bastard away from him, but how? There wasn't much he could do right now, he couldn't very well chase the man out of his tent for saying things in a strange tone of voice. What a fucking great day this was turning out to be.

Marsh leered at the pilot for another moment before finally turning around, "Well, they are fine men Morrison you should be proud, but," here he turned back to Hannibal, "I'm sure you have much to do Colonel, thank you for your time and good luck with your mission,"

He saluted and Hannibal did the same. The others quickly followed his example. Then finally they could leave, Murdock trailed behind BA and for a moment he looked back with a small frown on his face.

The blade had finally fallen and the temperature in the tent had dropped by about 10 degrees. Morrison glared at Marsh, trying to will the bastard away, unfortunately he was an expert in ignoring these things and instead he said in a very happy tone of voice;

"I like them," he admitted, "They're quite... interesting,"

Morrison closed his eyes, a sudden weariness overwhelming him, "I'm sure you do,"

He_ really_ didn't need this.

* * *

Thar ye be laddies, I hope ya'll enjoyed the fun days wi' Murdock and the gang!

I have no idear what accant dis is... O_o

yours insanely

gollumfryingeggs


End file.
